Fake It Till You Make It
by CatsBalletHarveySpecter
Summary: Faye gives Donna an ultimatum, either choose her relationship with Harvey or her status at the firm. Harvey and Donna come up with a plan to get her off Donna's back. Based on the 9x04 promo.


Based on the prompt, Harvey and Donna are fighting in a public place, what if they fake their break up? (Based on the 904 promo and the tweet from Elle (darveycanon1), my mind couldn't help but go there, I have a thing for the "fake" story lines)

Disclaimer: I wrote this after seeing the promo last night and before the picture of them in the copy room was released, so bear with my fight venue

Happy post 903 reading :)

* * *

**Fake it Till You Make it**

"Donna, good. I wanted to talk to you about the upcoming partners meeting" Faye greets her and beckons her in.

"What about it?" Donna asks, still hesitant to enter the office.

"I don't think you'll need to be in attendance."

"What exactly are you trying to tell me?" Donna questions the special master sitting in front of her.

As if she didn't hate the woman enough, now she was being called into her office in the middle of the day just so Faye could lecture her. Faye had found out about her relationship with Harvey mere hours ago and was already making it her mission to rain hell upon them. The firm was extra chaotic today, with the special master announcing that a vote for the new managing partner would be held at the weeks end, Donna doesn't imagine whatever she called her in here for is on the top of her to do list.

"You have to give up your vote" she explains, turning her chair towards the red-head standing before her.

"Pardon?" she stares back in disbelief, "I don't know if you're aware of this but I'm this firms COO."

"For now…" Faye clucks.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Donna fires back, folding her arms across her chest and heightening her stance.

"It means that since it has come to my attention that you and Harvey are involved, I am rethinking how things are done around here."

"Excuse me? You think just because Harvey and I are involved I should lose my job as COO?"

"I don't think you should lose you job Donna, I just think it might be best if you don't have a say in business decisions. We wouldn't want your personal life to influence the choices you make here, would we?" Faye flashes her an innocent smile that is fueled with a knowing vindictiveness.

"I don't know what you think you know about me, but I place value on my career, and I am not the type of woman who would jeopardize an entire company over a personal quarrel!"

"That may be Ms. Paulsen, but I'm running this firm now and from where I stand, you're a flight risk. The way I see it, you either break things off with Harvey, or you give up your vote."

"Faye, I've worked my entire life to get to where I am, please, don't take this away from me" she pleads.

"Make a decision by tomorrow, or I'll make one for you" Faye grins, leaving Donna to storm out of her office without saying another word.

.

.

She marches straight into Harvey's office and plops down in the chair opposite him, not saying a word. He watches as she storms in and takes a seat, her silence speaking volumes, her body language telling him something has pissed her right off.

"Everything okay Donna?" he asks cautiously, careful to avoid throwing salt in the wound.

"Does it look okay?"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Well I didn't come in here to have margaritas" she fires back sarcastically and he has to stifle a laugh.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you it's just, I've had enough of her!" she flails her arms in the air and he can see how tense she is.

"What happened now?"

"She's taking away my vote towards the managing partner…" Donna explains, looking visibly deflated.

"She can't do that!" he exclaims, jumping up from his chair, his legs already carrying him towards the door.

"She can, and she did Harvey" she says, hers eyes pleading for him to sit back down, a plea he accepts and resigns back to his desk chair.

"There has to be something else we can do, because if that woman thinks she can come in here and strip you of what you've rightfully earned, she's got another thing coming!"

She hadn't seen this side of him in a long time, the Harvey Specter that wouldn't take anyone's shit and was the best closer the city had ever seen because of it. He had that fire in his eye, a tinge of fight mixed with relentlessness and she knew he was ready to go to war.

"Well, she did give me an ultimatum…" she practically whispers.

"And?"

"I would never even consider it."

"Why not?"

"Because she said if I want to keep my vote, I have to end things with you…"

"God damnit!" he's back on his feet and pacing his office, "She had no right… what we do on our own time is none of that woman's concern…"

She watches as he paces across his office, not knowing what else to say; a first for her. She's processing. It wasn't the first time the topic of their personal relationship had come up regarding her career. Malik accused her of sleeping her way to the top, Louis had once questioned her willingness to do anything for Harvey because of her feelings for him, even god damn Daniel Hardman made a comment about their relationship. She wasn't exactly a stranger to these accusations but for whatever reason they stung more now. Faye's doubt in her ability to separate her personal and professional life stung more than any of the past accusations. It could be because after all this time, the latter half of the statement was true; it really was like that between her and Harvey. For the first time in her life, she couldn't fall back on defending herself by saying it wasn't like that between the two of them, because it was.

Could she separate personal and professional? She hoped so. She liked to think she was the type of person who could do both, have a big career and a love life and this woman was threatening to take that away without even giving her a chance to prove herself.

Why Faye had chosen to target her over Harvey was obvious. As a lawyer, she knew she couldn't take away his vote without an uproar. Donna's vote, however, could be easily justified if questioned. It was a low blow on Faye's part, completely unfair, but she couldn't do anything about it except for try to make the best out of a bad situation.

"I'm so sorry Donna. If I had known what impact our relationship would have on your career I-"

"You what, wouldn't have come over that night?" she shrugs, she knows as well as he does that even if they'd seen this coming, neither of them would alter a thing about their relationship.

"I didn't say that, and I wasn't going to. What I was going to say is that I would have been sure to not mention it at the office."

"Oh"

"Ya, oh" he mocks her, making his way around the desk and sitting on the arm of her chair, his breath dangerously close to her ear. Reaching for her hand, he takes it in his and places it in his lap.

"I just wish I knew how to help. This would be so much easier if no one here knew about us…" he ponders their options, racking his brain for anything that might help get Faye off Donna's back.

"Harvey that's it!" she stares up at him wide-eyed, a smile growing up towards her ears.

"We get a time machine and don't tell anyone about us?" he stares back with a dubious look.

"As fun and _realistic _as that seems, what if we broke up? Then Faye would get what she wants, I get to keep my vote and it will be like no one here knows!"

"Okay, what am I missing here? You want to break up?"

"I want to stage a breakup" she clarifies.

"Alright you're going to have to walk me through this one…"

"What if we broke up somewhere that people can overhear us and then tell Faye that we ended it?"

"Okay Donna, you're scaring me a bit here" he tightens his hold on her hand and she flashes him a tiny smile, reassuring him.

"Listen. What if we stage a breakup somewhere that people will overhear and then tell Faye that we ended things. If we do it in public word is bound to get around and she'll believe us and give me my vote back. But we won't actually break up," she feels the need to clarify and erase the terrified expression he's wearing, "We'll just pretend to."

"I like the way you think Paulsen. Where should we do it?"

"It needs to be somewhere with lots of people, somewhere crowded, if no one hears us and it doesn't get back to Faye on its own she'll never believe us when we tell her we ended it."

"I've got it!"

.

.

"Common, Donna, stop!" he calls after her as she blazes a trail through the bullpen.

"Why Harvey? Give me one good reason?" she calls over her shoulder, coming to an abrupt stop before the last cubicle and turning to face him. He finds the associate beside him quickly advert his eyes when he notices Harvey looking at him and sighs.

"Don't you people have work to do?" he brings his hand down on the desk and the associates scatter back into their respective cubicles and put their heads down; pretending to be busy when really they were all listening in on the fight brewing between the COO and name partner.

"Let's talk about this" he says to Donna, taking a step in her direction that he immediately regrets. Her arms are folded firmly across her body and her hip is popped, a stance she only takes when she means business.

"What is there to talk about?! You've made it very clear that you think I should give everything up for you!"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"So, you're telling me you don't think I should give up my vote in the partners meeting?!" she barks back at him, impatiently tapping her foot as she awaits his response. She's met with silence as he stares down at the ground and so scoffs.

"Ya, that's what I thought" she sighs, turning to storm away from him once again.

"It's just a stupid vote!" he calls after her, words that flick an internal switch that causes her to freeze mid step and whirl around to face him, stalking towards him with a purpose that makes him want to evaporate. Stopping inches from his face, she regains her composure before speaking. The hurt that fills her voice when she does pierces his heart and he struggles to keep it together.

"Just a vote? I've worked my entire life to have a seat at the table and now their trying to take that away from me and you have the nerve to tell me its just a fucking vote?!" she yells in his face and a few of the associates can no longer help but stare.

"I shouldn't have to give up something just because I'm in a relationship with you!" she adds.

"Are you saying you want to end this?" his voice cracks as his eyes finally find hers. His pupils are dilated, and his puppy dog eyes are filled with tears, the true picture of a broken man.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. I'm sorry Harvey but I can't do this anymore, we're done" she says before placing a hand over her mouth to muffle her soft sobs, brushing past his shoulder and leaving the bullpen. He's left alone in the middle of a room filled with associates, all staring at him with mouths agape. He let's a single tear roll down his cheek before he wipes his eyes on the back of his sleeves and shoves his hands back in his pockets, walking away in the opposite direction.

.

.

Later that afternoon, Donna finds Faye at her desk and knocks lightly against her glass door.

"Donna, I wasn't expecting you until this afternoon. Please," Faye gestures to the vacant chair, "come in."

Donna had been preparing for this moment all day. She made sure to actively avoid Harvey in the halls and replayed their conversation in her head to help set the tone for the one she was about to have.

"What can I do for you?"

"I've given a lot of thought to your proposition, and I've decided to break things off with Harvey," she replies, fiddling with her thumbs in her lap.

"Ah, someone told me you might be coming in here to tell me that."

"Oh?"

"I guess one of the associates overheard your little lovers quarrel. But it's for the best surely, seeing as you two couldn't even manage to have that argument in private" Faye's eyes drill into Donna and make her squirm with discomfort.

"I'm so sorry, we got caught up in the heat of the moment and I'm so embarrassed. You don't have to worry about it, we've ended things."

"Good. I'm glad to see you come to your senses Donna. I would hate to see all that potential wasted over a frivolous relationship."

"Right" Donna tries her best to respond with a smile, but it ends up being more of a grimace than a grin. She gets up and excuses herself but the sound of Faye's voice calls her back before she reaches to corridor.

"Donna, I think you made the right decision" Faye nods at her.

When she finally reaches the elevator, she releases the breath she'd been holding since stepping foot in the special master's office. She smiles to herself, satisfied with her latest performance and hits the button for the ground floor. She does her best to hide her grin until she's left the building, as you never know who might be watching but once she sees Ray waiting for her beside the car her grin breaks free. She's only halfway into the back seat before he pounces, asking her the question he'd been dying to know the answer to all afternoon.

"Did she buy it?"

His face is littered with worry and she reaches for his hand before responding with a wily smirk, "She bought it!"

He cups her cheeks and pulls her in for a kiss in response as Ray begins to weave his way through the city.

"I can't believe she fell for it" he muses, using his thumb to trace lazy circles across her palm as the city lights rush by them.

"I can, A+ acting, Mr." She pokes his side playfully.

"I learned from the master. Seriously Donna, you were incredible back there."

"So were you, where did those tears come from?"

"Honestly, I just thought about how I would feel if I was really losing you."

"Harvey" she coos and places a kiss on his lips, "You don't ever have to worry about losing me."

.

.

The morning passes by quickly as it usually does. Donna fixes her hair while Harvey flips through the morning paper and fixes their coffees. She loved how simple their mornings where. They'd spent nearly every night together since they'd started dating and their morning routine was quickly becoming her favourite part. Waking up in his arms was blissful and lately he'd gotten into the habit of waking her with a soft peck on the temple, an action that made her heart lurch. He would use the washroom to get ready while she picked an outfit and he would prepare them breakfast as she got ready. It was simple, understated and just, them.

"Donna have you seen my…?"

She hands him a file folder off the counter, and he places it into his bag.

"God woman, is there anything you can't do?"

"Fly," she smirks, "but I'm working on it."

He moves into the bedroom to grab his jacket and she follows, moving for her shoes. Once her heels are on and his coat is in place, she reaches for his tie in the all too familiar way she'd been adjusting it for a decade. He tilts his chin upwards and allows her to tighten the knot before she uses the tie to pull him down to her and places her palms flat on his chest while she kisses him.

"You ready?" she whispers when they finally break the kiss.

"Let's do it."

.

.

Out of habit, she follows him into his office with her morning coffee in hand; a new ritual of sorts. For the past few weeks they'd taken to enjoying their morning coffee together at the office, while flipping through emails and setting up for the day, and today old habits were dying hard.

Once settled in her usual spot on his couch, she realizes it wouldn't be normal for two people who just ended their relationship to be seen having coffee together.

"Harvey, I should go" she panics.

"What? Why?"

"Two people who just broke up having coffee together doesn't seem very realistic to me."

She begins to gather her things when Faye strolls in.

"Good morning Harvey, Donna." She turns to acknowledge the red heads presence before turning her attention back to Harvey.

"I didn't think I'd find both of you in one place" she states dryly.

"We had some things to discuss, client related" Donna answers for Harvey and Faye flashes her a tight-lipped grin.

"Since you're both here I just came to let you know the vote has been scheduled for 2pm."

"Great, thanks" Harvey says, not attempting to hide his hatred.

"See you both there" she says before leaving them alone in Harvey's office.

"I think that's my cue to get going" she playfully rolls her eyes and scoops up her stuff. He stops her before she reaches the door, stepping to stand so her hip is brushing against his thigh and he's towering over her.

"By the way, that dress is amazing" he breathes, giving her the once over.

"It'll look even better on the floor tonight" she winks before strutting out of his office and leaving him standing in the doorway, speechless. So much for being discrete at work, she nearly gave him a stroke and they were hardly an hour into the day.

.

.

Their fake fight had worked far better than either of them expected it to and by the time lunch rolled around Donna had been approached by three partners and Louis to see how she was holding up. After thanking them for their concern she managed to brush off any conversations asking what it was that caused them to split up. Louis was the hardest to shake and it hurt her heart to lie to a man who was so concerned for her well being, but she knew it had to be done. Promising Louis she was alright for the hundredth time and agreeing to drinks after work at the end of the week, she finally managed convince him he didn't need to murder Harvey and that the decision was a mutual one.

She found Samantha and Katrina in her office waiting to check up on her when she returned to her desk after lunch. Reluctantly agreeing to a night out, she tells them she has work to do and thanks them for their concern. It floors her to see how much her coworkers care about her but at the same time it pains her to have to lie to them all. Was this the life she was destined to live if she stayed at the firm while dating Harvey? One filled with lies and deceit?

Was having a vote really that important to her? She already had her title and her position, did she need that seat at the table too? Need? Absolutely not, if they told her tomorrow her services were no longer needed she wouldn't bat an eyelash at stepping back but in this instance, it was the principle of the matter. She decides to through herself into work until the partners meeting to distract from the turmoil swirling around in her head.

The partners meeting comes and goes uneventfully, minus the difficulty Harvey had keeping his eyes off Donna. He barely heard Faye when she announced how the voting would work and Louis had to call his name to get him to pay attention on two separate occasions. He was trying his hardest to avoid looking at her, the last thing he wanted was for Faye to catch on to what they did, but he was struggling. He found himself wondering how he managed to avoid ogling her everyday in the decade prior and concluded that if he knew what it felt like to be loved by Donna Paulsen back then, he would've had the exact same problem.

He hated that he inadvertently put her in this position, forced to lie or lose what she spent her entire life working for; it wasn't right. It wasn't fair that the woman who had given everything to this firm was being treated so poorly but he was going to do everything in his power to ensure she kept what she rightfully earned.

He walks out behind her after the meeting and leans over to whisper in her ear, "My office, I miss you."

She obliges and follows him down the hall to his office. Shutting the door she turns to see him sporting the goofiest grin she has ever encountered.

"You miss me? It's been less than 6 hours Harvey"

"I'm allowed to miss my beautiful girlfriend, sue me" he flirts.

"My boyfriends the best closer in the city you know, I'd be careful about who you tell me to sue" she giggles, and he can't help but join her in laughing.

"For two people who are no longer together you've spent an awful lot of time together today" Faye observes as she interrupts them in Harvey's office.

"What can we say, we're mature adults and we're friends" Harvey explains, rolling his eyes at Faye's constant need to appear.

"Right, and is that why your driver gave Donna a lift last night?" Faye presses, eyeing them both as she moves to stand in front of them.

"I don't see anything wrong with giving Donna a ride home" Harvey objects, while Donna still stands silently between the two of them.

"Neither do I Mr. Specter, but unless she moved into your apartment building you didn't give her a ride home."

"Did you have me followed?!"

"I thought you two would have learned by now that lying to me will get you know where… As of this moment Donna's vote is officially void and her status as COO is pending review."

"You leave her out of this" Harvey steps towards Faye and Donna reaches out and takes hold of his arm to stop him.

"Harvey" she warns, putting herself between him and Faye, "I can handle this."

"You may think that you beat me on this, but I promise you, you have no idea what kind of fight you just picked. You want to take my vote away? Fine. But if you think for one second that we aren't going to find a way to fight this than you're even more delusional than I thought. You may be able to take away my right to vote but you're about to find out why I earned this god damn position!"

"Be that as it may, as of this moment you are no longer able to participate in firm votes or partners meetings" she replies, leaving a sour taste in Harvey's mouth as she leaves his office.

"What are we going to do?" he asks, sinking into his office chair.

"First, I'm going to tell Louis the truth so he'll stop trying to comfort me and then, we're going to show that lady that she messed with the wrong couple."


End file.
